


call me on (and on) across the universe

by waterbendingpercy



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Gen, Gender-Neutral Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Minor Swearing, it's the space aesthetic isnt it, sibling-like relationship, takes place after shiro goes missing, what is it about vld and late nights that i like so much??
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-29
Updated: 2019-07-29
Packaged: 2020-07-25 18:27:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,387
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20030341
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/waterbendingpercy/pseuds/waterbendingpercy
Summary: Shiro is gone, and Pidge doesn't know what to do.





	call me on (and on) across the universe

**Author's Note:**

> i wrote this after shiro went missing (season 3? season 4?) and forgot i wrote it, so here's a nice throwback to simpler times. this could also count as a late contribution to lance's birthday ig

Another strand of encrypted code streamed across the screen. Pidge repressed a frustrated sigh before returning to their translation work.

The Altean castle-ship boasted a massive database of records from the past few millennia, and Pidge had made it their goal to scour through all of them for anything that could help in the search for the rest of the Holts—and Shiro now, too.

The pressure of finding their family weighed heavily on Pidge's mind. It wasn’t until they felt something draped across their back did they realize someone else was in the room.

“Hey, Pidge-pie. What’re you doing up so late?”

“Time is relative, and also doesn’t exist when you’re traveling at lightspeed through space, Lance,” Pidge remarked, but sank gratefully into the comforting material of Lance’s bomber jacket. 

Lance ignored Pidge’s sharp glare as he pushed aside a cluster of radios and wires to sit beside the green paladin. “Sleep still exists in space,” he jabbed back.

Pidge arched an eyebrow and resumed their work. The jacket hung off their shoulders, giving them an even more hunched appearance. “Then go to sleep.”

“Pidgeyyy.”

“Don’t call me that.”

“Pidgeotto.”

“Nope.”

“Pidgeot. You at least need a break.” Lance poked at Pidge’s face with a finger, which Pidge pushed away. “Come on. Midnight goo snack?”

Pidge turned to shoot another weary glare at him, to which Lance replied with an exaggerated pouty face. The way his pupils darted over Pidge’s face and the tightness in his eyes seemed to arise out of more than a need to pester them, though, and in spite of their prided stubbornness, Pidge found themselves giving in.

“Whatever.”

Lance grinned, wisely choosing not to gloat in his victory, and stood. He held out a hand to Pidge, which normally they would have snorted at, but they were just _so tired_ right now, and Lance probably wouldn’t even remember this in the morning. 

Their joints seemed to stretch and sigh from stiffness as Lance helped them up, Pidge still clinging at his jacket.

Ten minutes later found them creeping into the castle kitchen. Pidge winced as the bright lights shudder on.

“Can’t we just leave them off?” they whined.

“Not if you want goo.” Lance busied himself by the goo machine, poking and prodding at the buttons and switches. “Aha!”

Pidge watched in mild disdain as Lance aimed the hose above a bowl... and nothing came out. “Incredible,” they deadpanned.

“No, wait, Hunk taught me how to do this—” Lance pressed a few more buttons only for them to watch as, at most, a few green blobs slid into the bowl.

“That’s weird.” Lance shook the hose. “I could’ve sworn HOLY F—”

Goo rocketed out of the hose at an alarming speed, instantly overfilling the bowl and splattering back into Lance’s face.

“That was by far,” Pidge cackled, “the dumbest thing I’ve ever seen.” They bent over the counter, wheezing dramatically. 

Lance stared at Pidge disapprovingly as he slid the bowl towards them, even as the corner of his mouth twitched. “It wasn’t _that_ funny,” he whined.

Pidge just smirked as they wiped away tears. “I can’t wait to tell Keith,” they sighed, and delighted in the shade of red that immediately crossed Lance’s face.

“Don’t you _dare._ Give me back that bowl, you little shit, you don’t deserve it anymore—”

More goo ended up on the floor than in the bowl, but they silently agreed that it sounded more like a problem for daytime Pidge and Lance. 

It took a decent amount of wrestling and complaining on both ends for Lance to finally remove all traces of goo from his face, thanks to Pidge and a wet wipe crammed in their back pocket. (“I can’t stand to look at your face all gross like that. It’s hard enough to look at when it’s normal—” “Then you give that to me RIGHT NOW, it’s MY face—”)

Being so far away from the dining room and having no idea what to do with the dirty bowl or their two spoons (and not wanting to venture through the castle in the dark, not that Pidge would admit it), Lance tucked it in a corner in the corridor where the castle mice could find it and he could avoid a scolding from Coran for leaving dirty dishes in the kitchen again.

He rejected Pidge’s suggestion of bringing it back to leave in his room. “I don’t know if space cockroaches are a thing, but I’m in no mood to deal with that right now,” Lance explained, to which Pidge could only shrug, too tired to argue any further. 

Now that Pidge had helped satisfy Lance’s midnight goo cravings, they assumed that would be that and made for their workspace, feeling only a little dread at the prospect of having to split their brain over more code decryption and database-combing.

They realized they assumed wrong when Lance promptly grabbed their shoulders and steered them in the direction of the rooms. “Nuh-uh. I’m not letting you back in your cave until tomorrow.”

“But—” Matt. Dad. Shiro. 

“You won’t be much help to anyone if you’re severely sleep-deprived, Pidge,” Lance said, as if answering Pidge’s thoughts. “Okay?”

Pidge could only fall through the door and slump on the bed in relief. It felt like eons since they had actually slept in their bed, they realized. How could they have forgotten how heavenly clean bedsheets felt?

Lance followed them inside, letting the door close quietly behind him. “You gonna be a good gremlin for once and get some sleep?”

“Fuck off,” Pidge said, but the bite in their tone was muffled by the pillow on their face. They sink into a dreamless slumber.

When Pidge woke up, it was warm. Like, really warm.

Their next realization was that they were still wearing Lance’s jacket. It smelled like his annoying cologne but it’s comfy, so they decide it’s tolerable.

Pidge stirred, stretching slightly, and rolled over.

And came face-to-face with Lance, fast asleep and snoring quietly.

It was enough to jolt them fully awake. “Shit,” they hissed, sitting upright. How long had they been asleep?

Lance gurgled awake. “Hhhh. Pidge?”

Pidge frowned down at him. “Good morning, sleeping ugly. Did you trap me in your room?”

Lance stared at them incredulously. “I helped you get a full night’s sleep, and that’s the first thing you say to me?”

“Yes.” Pidge suddenly realized their vision was blurry and began sifting through the sheets anxiously.

“Your glasses are on the desk over there,” Lance said without lifting his head up. “You almost smooshed them into the pillow last night.”

Pidge glared mournfully across the room. “Jerkface. That’s so far.”

Lance glared back. “If you keep up these insults, I want my jacket back.”

Pidge considered this. Lance was kind of a butthead for kidnapping them last night, but…. they _did_ feel more well-rested than they had in weeks. Plus, the jacket was fuzzy on the inside.

“Whatever,” they said, and flopped back against the bed. “What time is it?”

“Mmm. Still early.” Lance shifted onto his side to look at them. “Are you going to isolate yourself in your little bunker again?”

Pidge scowled. “You don’t get it, Lance. They’re my family.”

Lance sat up. “Yeah, and? Shiro’s one of us, and that makes him practically my family, too.” He paused, and when Pidge doesn’t respond he added, “You’re not the only one hurting.”

Pidge turned away, scrunching the blankets around them. Lance sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He flopped back down, facing away from them. “But whatever. You’re free to go.”

Pidge groaned and dragged their hands down their face. “I hate it when you do that.”

Lance looked over his shoulder. To his credit, his face only held a glimmer of a smirk. “Do what?”

“If I admitted it, I’d have to kill you.”

“You don’t mean that.” 

Then Pidge wiggled under the blankets, and there was a silent back-and-forth scuffle as they both wrestled for the sheets. Eventually they settled with lying back to back on the narrow bed.

“Lance?” Pidge whispered.

“Mmm.”

“Your jacket reeks.”

Lance huffed out a laugh. It’s the closest Pidge will come to showing gratitude, and they know he knows that.

“Go back to sleep, Pidge,” he muttered, and they do.

**Author's Note:**

> pidge and lance's sibling rivalry dynamic is a high i'll be chasing for the rest of my life send tweet
> 
> (kudos n comments are much appreciated!)


End file.
